Stealing Your Freedom
by RoyallyMadHatter
Summary: Krusty never forced him to stay or kept him from leaving, because well... it was pretty much implied. (AU!Medieval) (KrustyxShiroe) (SHONEN-AI/BOYXBOY)
1. Money Is Cheap

~ Money Is Cheap ~

* * *

"Oh please, my fellow neighbors. The People of the Land would be honored to assist you! There's no need to keep your desperate need for help a secret from us." Lord Marves booms with a revolting look of triumph in his grin. Shiroe's hand swiftly glides to his sword, but before he can unsheathe it and behead the poor excuse for a human being, Krusty clears his throat. Though the small action saved his life, Lord Marves doesn't notice it.

"Lord uhm... Marves, I very much appreciate the offer-in fact-_all_ of the offers that you made within the past fifteen minutes since you arrived here. However, as I clearly stated before, we are not currently in a position where we need any help." Krusty replies smoothly. Frankly, it was amazing how he managed to stay civilized at all.

"Ah but that is your current position, is it not? I have a variety of-"

"Do you happen to desire anything of us?" Krusty cuts to the point. They had places to be and if it wasn't for Lord Marves' title of nobility, they wouldn't be dealing with him.

"Actually, now that you mention it! I was hoping to buy some soldiers from your army. It is surely large enough for you to spare a few for an ally." Marves says in a sing-song voice as if he had won something. Shiroe rolls his eyes. No doubt the citizens are unsatisfied with such a useless leader. If it had already come to this, Lord Marves definitely received a plentiful amount of threats by now. Luckily for him-with the amount of tax that he collects-he probably has more money than even Krusty's princely allowance adds up to (which is saying something for sure). Still, Shiroe knew that this effort was futile.

"I apologize, you should probably consider some mercenaries rather than us. D.D.D. kingdom does not sell our soldiers and we never will." Krusty states simply. Shiroe leans back on the wall behind and keeps an eye out for Marves' bodyguards, his eyes cautiously flickering.

"If I wanted just anyone, I would have simply asked my friends here to slip your soldiers some motivation, if you know what I mean." Marves rubs his fingers to imply bribery and the point is taken. "I don't want to pick any fights or ruin my reputation," Krusty and Shiroe wonder if his reputation can get any worse. "I'm just fairly certain you have already considered that possibility." Marves' voice sharpens though instead of intimidating, it seems almost stubborn.

"An unlikely possibility, but do go on." Krusty responds. The loyalty of Krusty's army has always been outstanding and even those who lack talent wouldn't consider betrayal for a second.

"I've heard some wonderful rumors about your dear second-in-command, Shiroe-kun." Marves' allows his gaze to trickle to an indifferent Shiroe.

"Oh?" Krusty raises his eyebrow. Of course the idea amuses him.

"What do you say, Shiroe-kun? I would be willing to pay you a hefty sum of money. Surely your talents aren't needed in a kingdom with such a successful army." He addresses him directly and Shiroe chooses among his wide repertoire of fake smiles.

"You flatter me, but you have the wrong idea. Second-in-command is a title wasted on me and is much better suited for our general, Naotsugu. I'm simply the first prince's personal assistant." Shiroe bows politely.

"Ah, modesty is such a fine trait to have. However, I've heard countless stories of your accomplishments and would love to have you by my side. I can offer you immediate payment." Marves states rather bluntly and Shiroe realizes that the other is mistaking a polite refusal for being modest. Krusty doesn't show it, but Shiroe can tell that he's enjoying the way that Marves is testing his loyalty.

"Money isn't the reason I work for Krusty, but I appreciate the offer nonetheless." Shiroe says almost apologetically. The only real threat nearby is Krusty, he thinks bitterly.

"It's a shame but I must take my leave as I have other appointments to make. If you consider anything, Shiroe-kun-contact me immediately." Marves says briskly and marches out of the room. Krusty cracks his neck and turns to Shiroe with that familiar glint in his eye.

"Modesty is such a fine trait to have, Shiroe-kun." He grins knowing full well that Shiroe was almost at his breaking point.

"Stop. You're starting to give me unhealthy flashbacks." Shiroe shudders and Krusty finds it endearing. They walk to Krusty's room and take note of palace guards and the occasional royalty to which Shiroe bows to. When they arrive, Shiroe takes a while to get to the closet-the room was nowhere near small-and pulls out Krusty's ever familiar royal attire.

"Good?" He asks and Krusty hums in response. He slips across the room and stops in front of Krusty. Pulling the clothing over Krusty's shoulders, Shiroe delicately smoothes out the front which is a habit of his, according to Krusty. While Shiroe works on tying the ropes and making sure that it's presentable, Krusty remembers what they're preparing for.

"It's almost lonely when Isaac invites us as the prince of Black Sword kingdom, rather than for a casual visit." Krusty isn't sure if Shiroe hears him as he seems preoccupied with his clothing. But sure enough, Shiroe sighs.

"He has responsibilities just like you do. At least we get to see him since it's been quite a while." Shiroe lets out a breath finally satisfied with his work. Krusty takes the opportunity before he forgets.

"You should wear red today." He notes absently and Shiroe's shrugs.

"You know I don't particularly like the color."

"Of course I know. And you still never tell me why."

"Would you believe me if I said it was a fashion statement?" Shiroe smirks but still has a note of seriousness in his expression.

"Wear blue then. I'll forgive you for having nothing against our royal color. " Krusty slumps down on a couch. _Our_ royal color, huh? Shiroe hides a smile at that.

"Speaking of royal colors, Black Sword kingdom's is red. You'll have to swallow your fashionistic pride." Krusty studies his reaction and Shiroe looks at him questioningly.

"I've been there before, haven't I?" Shiroe sits down at Krusty's desk to go over some paperwork.

"Because it's an official meeting, it'll be in the palace meeting room rather than the guest room which is-courtesy of Isaac-much less obnoxiously red." Krusty pulls out his sword to examine the gleaming reflection of the sunlight filtering through the window.

"Great." Shiroe sighs. Red was a color that he never wanted to see again for reasons locked away in his heart and his past.

* * *

"Come in."

"Shiroe-sama, the king and queen request your presence." The messenger, Misa bows and Shiroe's eyes trickle to Krusty who continues reading his book and doesn't say anything. Shiroe stands up.

"I'll be right there." He responds and Misa exits the room.

"Knowing you, you'll probably keep this to yourself, right?" Krusty says over his book.

"You can order me to tell you anything and I won't be able to refuse." Shiroe was always Krusty's personal servant before anything else. Krusty simply laughs at that.

"I like to save my personal pleasures for the best situations." Krusty smirks and Shiroe opens the door.

"Then I guess you'll have to trust me, won't you?" He remarks and exits with his clothing flowing behind him.

"I do." He responds but Shiroe doesn't hear him.

As Shiroe walks through the hallway, he adjusts his black gloves. Krusty gave them to him and jokingly said it would give him a mysterious and lethal image. Not that everyone thought he was an assassin or anything. Well, not _everyone_.

"Your majesty. You requested to see me?"

"Ah, Shiroe. Please come in." A voice responds immediately with practiced kindness etched into it. The guards nod and pushes the doors open. They were huge slabs of steel designed with the royal color, which was often referred to as golden blue.

"I understand that Krusty is taking you as his bodyguard to the Black Sword kingdom." The king's echoing voice fills the room. The king and queen looked far too young to be the parents of Krusty, but their appearances had distinct similarities to Krusty's.

Shiroe nods silently. One of the many things that he had picked up in the presence of royalty was that nearly everything was a question and most only had one answer.

Well luckily, the king and queen were quite different from normal royalty.

After a moment of silence, a smile broke out on the king's face. "That's wonderful! You're always such a good influence on him." Shiroe fails at hiding his own smile as he stands from where he was kneeling.

"He doesn't seem to appreciate you as much as he should." Shiroe says as the king chuckles.

"No, he's just in his rebellious dark stage at the moment. And he used to be such a cute child."

"I wonder if Shiroe-kun has a darker side to him as well." The queen asks from the throne next to the king.

"Unthinkable. This kid doesn't have a dark bone in his body."

The king rethinks it and corrects himself. "Well, unless he's cutting down an enemy." Shiroe suddenly picks up on footsteps coming in their direction.

"Which is exactly why he should be my personal assistant." A new charismatic voice appears from Shiroe's right and he recognizes it as Krusty's older step-brother, Ryiz. According to Krusty, Ryiz is the child of two famous generals and loyal friends to the king. They had unfortunately perished in battle and immediately after their deaths, he was adopted by the king and queen. In the case that the troubled royal family could not produce an heir, he would be the rightful first prince. When the prodigy turned five, Krusty was born and he became a reserve. Locked away in the tower, he currently serves as the respected leader of the special forces.

"I'll remind you that I'm nothing like I was in the past. I'm not the truly pure person that you think I am. Krusty's the one who deserves the praise." Shiroe responds with an apologetic bow and they all pause for a moment because even the people who know the most about Shiroe, know nearly nothing at all about him. They store that knowledge in the back of their heads.

Ryiz recovers immediately and rests his hand on Shiroe's shoulder. The normally intimidating icy blue eyes strangely appear to be warm. "Even better that you're not just some useless dog of my brother's. My offer is always up." He smiles and his silver hair disappears behind the doors of steel.

Despite losing his future, Ryiz has always been completely unbothered by Krusty's birth and earned dominating respect within the kingdom.

"Please don't mind him. He has taken a rather unhealthy interest in you." The queen giggled. Shiroe kept himself from rolling his eyes. Ryiz would be the first to kill him if he betrays Krusty-interest or no interest.

"I'm unworthy of such an honor." Cough.

* * *

"Okay, spill it. What did the spawns need?" Krusty somehow retains his elegance while interrogating him. Shiroe slides into a chair and stares at the ceiling.

"Hmm... we talked about some things, Ryiz said hi and then I told them of our plans for today."

"Ah, I already had a chat with Ryiz while you were still talking to my parents."

Of course Krusty somehow found out that Ryiz had spoken to Shiroe mere _seconds_ after the encounter-how that was remotely possible, Shiroe didn't know. He tears his eyes away from the ceiling to give Krusty the_ look_.

"Don't worry." The _look _again.

"I didn't murder him or anything." Krusty grins and Shiroe just shakes his head. When he meets eyes with Krusty again, he can sense the atmosphere being changed to serious.

"My parents didn't say anything _unnecessary_, did they?" Krusty asks sincerely. Shiroe hesitates for a second.

_Make sure nothing happens to our son. We only allow you two to go alone because you're willing to die for him. There are many that don't approve of an outsider being close to the future king._

"Of course not."

Krusty wasn't expecting to get a truthful answer.

"Let's get going. Our horses are waiting for us."

* * *

A/N: HEY GUYS IM BAAAAACK. Summer is here and school is over wew.

The Author's Note will always be down here as well as responses to reviews **sparkling eyes**

Since I pretty much planned out most of this story, feel free to drop any questions you have!

It looks like it's a bit slow, but guise. I'm sorry. There's a plot. DUN DUN DUUUUUUUUN.

There won't be many OCs, but Ryiz is mine. Just saying.

CHECK OUT THE COVER. I MADE IT. IT WAS GRUELING WORK. SRSLY, that picture was majorly edited. And fonts man. Fonts.

I'm trying to be artistic so I might attempt fanart-don't expect much LOL-for now Ryiz looks kinda like Kadaj from Final Fantasy maybe? KAGARI OPINIONS ON THIS. I WANT BANGS.

I hope you all have a great weekend, I'll try to update as soon as possible-superrrr excited!

Screw prologues by the way LOL


	2. Undying Trust

~ Undying Trust ~

* * *

"Krusty-sama, wouldn't it be more convenient to take the carriage instead?" Misa mentions uncertainly as she holds open the wooden stable doors.

"We haven't taken them out for a while. The horses are getting lonely." Krusty runs his hand along the pitch black hair of his horse, Fatality. Shiroe doesn't need to walk to his horse because it runs towards him - almost barreling into him. It's been a long time since he's seen it.

The gleaming white horse, Serenity was probably the most misbehaved horse in the entire kingdom - despite its rarity. Shiroe still remembers meeting it years ago.

_"I don't like that saddle." Shiroe rested his arms on the top of the stable doors. A blood red saddle rested on a shelf behind the horse. The horse made a noise which sounded like agreement. After a few moments, Shiroe sighed._

_"Ugh, Krusty's going to kill me for this." Shiroe bit his lip but opened the doors nonetheless._

_"I'll help you get away from here." Shiroe motioned for it to come out. The horse eyed him suspiciously._

_"There's a forest down there called the Eternal Forest. It'll be safe there." The horse slowly got to its feet and walked past the doors that had held it back. Looking at the strange man who had rescued it, it paused for a minute._

_Shiroe smiled a little, "Being sold... sucks doesn't it?" Neigh._

_"But being bought by the wrong person sucks even more." He patted the horse and it snuggled him. Soon after, it started running towards the forest without looking back._

_Shiroe groaned. "God he'll definitely know it was me."_

_A few hours later..._

_"Krusty-sama!" A man appeared at the doorway gasping for air._

_"Is there something wrong?" Krusty looked up from his book and Shiroe unsuspectingly continued his paperwork._

_"The white horse disappeared!" That's when Shiroe realized the voice was of the man in charge of the stables. He felt Krusty's eyes on him for a moment but he kept calm._

_"It's alright. I'll handle it later." Krusty went back to reading - a silent dismissal. The man bowed and disappeared from the room._

_"I rather liked that horse. How about you, Shiroe-kun?" Krusty flipped a page in his book._

_"I didn't pay much attention to it." Shiroe responded casually._

_Krusty hummed knowingly and Shiroe figured there was no point in hiding it anymore._

_"How did you figure out?" Shiroe commented curiously._

_"You stopped writing when he came in." Krusty gestured towards his paper and Shiroe silently cursed at himself._

_"I let it go." Shiroe spun his inked feather between his fingers expertly. There was a moment of silence. Krusty realized that this was probably the first time Shiroe did something that could potentially land him in trouble._

_"It's not a big deal." Krusty responded. Shiroe was a bit surprised considering how much the horse was worth. He probably didn't know that the whole ordeal was carried out by some rich snobbish nobles and the horse meant nearly nothing to Krusty._

_"Really?" Shiroe asked hopefully._

_"You're lucky I'm not some sexually-assaulting evil merchant." Krusty smirked and Shiroe ignored his unnecessary adlib._

_It was only a week later that Shiroe found out the Eternal Forest was going to be part of a hunt to satisfy the lack of resources caused by warfare._

_He hurriedly threw on a black hooded cloak and disappeared into the forest. He didn't know where to start looking, but it eventually involved slaying a dragon, defeating the lion king and crossing a creaking bridge above a river of alligators. _

Well, something like that. (Actually, the horse remembered his scent and met him in the forest, but that story isn't as exciting to tell.)

And so Serenity became Shiroe's loving partner.

"Shiroe-kun, Serenity is going to eat you if you keep ignoring her like that." Krusty interrupts his thoughts from atop his horse, and sure enough, said horse is trying to take a bite out of his head.

"Ah, sorry." Shiroe pets the horse and elegantly swings himself on top.

"We'll return tomorrow morning." Krusty says and Misa nods. They should have everything they need in their packs.

"Let's not keep Isaac waiting."

* * *

"The meeting begins in a few minutes, since we decided to start after your arrival. Sorry, you guys must be pretty tired - it isn't exactly a short distance from D.D.D. to here." Isaac grins.

"I'm fine, but Shiroe-kun hasn't done anything but work lately and I suddenly dragged him all the way out here." Krusty's eyes glint teasingly and Shiroe rolls his eyes.

"You should worry more about yourself, Krusty-san. I feel fine." Shiroe replies.

"Still the same as always, Shiroe." Isaac pats Shiroe on the back.

"It's been a while, Isaac-san." Shiroe bows kindly and Isaac waves him off. He didn't want Shiroe to be formal with him, but it was difficult enough to withhold the sama.

"Krusty rarely allows you on to go on the front lines, but those messengers that scatter across the battlefield and relay your plans always have perfect timing. Not to mention how ingenious the plans are. I'm thankful that you're on our side." Isaac exclaims.

"I'm honored." Shiroe replies, a bit taken back by the deja vu.

"Right this way, Shiroe-sama, Krusty-sama." Rezarick guides them to their rooms. The white and blue of the room contrasts with the rich red hallways of the palace. This room was specifically prepared for them. The room contains two beds and a few other simple pieces of furniture. After quickly unpacking, they meet Rezarick outside their room and head towards the palace meeting room.

"What do you think this is about?" Krusty asks. Shiroe makes sure that Rezarick is within hearing distance.

"Hmm... I guess it would have to be about Silver Sword. They've been acting rather strangely and could be viewed as potential enemies. It could also involve the neutral behavior of Honesty or the recent sighting of that infamous group of bullies, Hamelin." Shiroe's eyes dart towards the window and Krusty nods for him to continue.

"Therefore, we should discuss about gathering our allies in case of a surprise attack. Nobody is naive enough to attack us head on, so their first move would be indirect approach." Shiroe pauses.

"Such as spying." Shiroe murmurs and when they reach the palace meeting room, nearly all of the Black Sword kingdom's generals are there besides Isaac. Rezarick ushers them in and after meeting eyes with Shiroe, he rushes out immediately.

"I think he got the message." Shiroe whispers and Krusty folds his hands on the table. _All of that paperwork definitely paid off_, Krusty thinks.

Shiroe takes his place standing behind Krusty's chair. However, he soon realizes that he's surrounded by an inescapable bright red that is painted deeply across the walls.

* * *

Rezarick takes a few minutes to find Isaac approaching. He runs up to him.

"Shiroe-sama is as sharp as you've told me. He not only knows each and every detail and countermeasure for the meeting, but he spotted a spy outside the palace. I'll take care of it immediately." He whispers but Isaac shakes his head.

"No, the generals will suspect that something is wrong if you aren't there. For now, place guards around the palace room and alert the rest. Knowing Shiroe, he probably has something in mind." Isaac says and Rezarick quickly goes to relay the information to a nearby guard. He doesn't notice the blood seeping through the back of that guard's uniform.

"I'm sorry to keep you all waiting." Isaac enters the room. He sits down and motions for some servants to pour them all something to drink.

Krusty passes his water to Shiroe who seems like he needs to throw up.

"Let's cut to the chase. Silver Sword has been acting suspiciously, and we believe that they're strengthening their army at a lightning fast pace. We are unclear about the details surrounding Honesty and Hamelin. Anyhow, we need to gather our allies immediately." Isaac announces and earns a few nods from the rest of the table.

"There's no need to rush. We should act efficiently and in a way that won't provoke our enemy. I'm planning to send Shiroe to investigate during the course of our meeting - as was our other objective for coming all the way here." Krusty replies and those around him nod in agreement.

"Got it." Shiroe exits, relieved for the excuse to leave the room.

"In terms of allies, I'm guessing you have someone in mind?" Krusty says with a smile and Isaac laughs.

"Actually, I do."

* * *

"Ryiz-sama!" A female servant rushes over.

"Is something the matter?" Ryiz asks from behind his desk.

"There are some important people that are looking to meet with Krusty-sama." She reads some names off of the paper.

"All of those names sound horribly fake and cheesy." Ryiz comments and the woman doesn't know how to respond.

"Why are they so important?" Ryiz continues writing.

"Apparently one of them is the... friend of Shiroe-sama's close friend." She reads off the paper and Ryiz laughs.

"Wow, certainly. They must be really important now. I don't even trust my friends, not to mention the friends of my friends."

"Well sir, your friends are a bit..." She trails off and Ryiz places a paper on one of his stacks and stares at it for a while.

"Crap, I think I put that paper on the wrong pile... This was the threatening pile and um..." He rolls his eyes and picks the paper back up. The servant isn't sure if he's dismissing her or... ?

"I don't remember meeting any of Shiroe's friends? Who is it?" He asks suddenly.

"Uh. It's a woman named Marielle. She disappeared a few months ago."

* * *

"I think we pretty much covered everything. I'll contact the allies I mentioned and you keep me updated on any information that you find." Isaac stands up and Krusty does the same.

"Very well. I'll return to my room then. Excuse me." Krusty exits and an unfamiliar guard leads him out. When he reaches the room, the guard bows while holding the door open. Krusty doesn't make a move to enter the room and the guard looks up.

Krusty swiftly grabs the guard by the neck and slams him against a wall.

"So you're the spy from earlier. You should clean the blood off your uniform." Krusty squeezes tighter and the guard gasps for air.

"Krusty, the fi-first prince of D.D.D. You match up... to your reputation." The guard coughs some more, and Krusty recognizes the uniform underneath the stolen guard suit.

"Hamelin? What do you scum gain from spying?" Krusty takes out his sword and stabs into the man's shoulder. The piercing scream should alert someone nearby.

"By the way, you should worry about your aid. I sent an entire platoon after him." Blood drips down his chin, but he manages a maniacal smile. The smile disappears when Krusty begins to laugh.

_How silly._

He stabs the man in the heart and wipes the blood from his sword on the corpse. Some guards rush to the scene and Krusty sheathes the sword, pulling the door closed behind him.

* * *

Shiroe looks down at the bloodied bodies of the men who had just attacked him.

Hamelin? That was lucky. He had only bothered to look for information on Silver Sword and Honesty.

Raising one of the men by his hair - the last one still breathing - he kept his voice low.

"If you tell me something that I don't know, I'll let you live." Shiroe says calmly and the man seems to choose carefully in his words.

"Wait! Uh... someone seriously high up in Silver Sword is looking for you behind the scenes! He's offering a ton of money and-" Shiroe ends his life swiftly.

"Sorry, I already knew that."

* * *

A/N: WOW I'm sorry this is so late, I've been chilling. I'll be on a cruise this week, but I might sneak in some time to write haha.

I really wanted to get this out before I left XD

Anybody who has a name besides Ryiz and the horses is an actual character, so you can go check them on on Log Horizon wiki cause that had been saving my life constantly LOL

Just a side note, I did plan out the whole story vaguely but these OCs that I'm throwing in were not part of the original planning which I find kinda hilarious cause they fit in so well.

I snuck in a lot of KruShi kekeke, but I like when there's more character development before I pile in the deeper moments.

Some things:

YES KAGARI Savaris Luckens from Chrome Shelled Regios IS MUCH CLOSER TO THE PICTURE UMPH. GUISE SEE THAT. THATS RYIZ. THATS MY BAE. LOLOLOLOL well kinda, we'll adjust some stuff.

Meep. Why you no make an account huh. We have so much bonding to do. BUT AWHHH YOUR REVIEWS ARE ADORABLE SDJKJASDFKJASD

And there will be no magic, this is strictly swords/shields and limited technology. I hope you don't notice my over-usage of messengers and servants to make up for the lack of telepathy and cellphones.


	3. Words To Bind You

~ Words To Bind You ~

* * *

"Hey Krusty, thanks for taking down the spy. Sorry about that - he was a real pain in the neck to find." Isaac leans on the doorway of Krusty's room.

"Sorry about the hallway." Krusty smiles and Isaac doesn't sense any apology in his voice. He looks back at the blood and damage to the wall.

"Not a problem. Wait, Shiroe isn't back yet?" Isaac asks.

"Hmm, no." Krusty replies. Issac grins.

"Worried?" He coos and Krusty smile doesn't falter.

"Again, no." He answers easily.

"Haha, I was just kidding. You should get some rest." Isaac yawns.

"As should you. This room is beautiful by the way. Thanks for preparing it on such short notice." Krusty was referring to the color more than the enormous size of it. While it's true that Shiroe is oddly uncomfortable around red, surprisingly, blood doesn't bother him at all. And we're not talking about little paper cuts either; they've seen their fair share of bloodbaths.

"Anytime. Have a good night." Isaac exits out the door without waiting for a response. Krusty pours himself some tea that's sitting on the table and walks over to the spotless glass window. Taking a sip, he notices some of Isaac's men cleaning up bodies with the same Hamelin uniforms as the spy had earlier.

Shiroe doesn't disappoint, does he?

* * *

Shiroe knocks twice on the door and Krusty tells him to come in. He slips off his jacket and leaves it on one of the couches in the center of the room. It's humid. He notices Krusty in a bathrobe and realizes that it's already late.

"What did you find?" Krusty asks immediately while drying his hair with a towel; he sits down behind a desk.

"Hmm... Apparently Silver Sword hasn't done anything out of the ordinary besides gathering soldiers. There's a rumor floating around that it's for only for training - they hold a tournament every year to determine their leaders. Still, I infiltrated one of their bases and heard some soldiers discussing Honesty." Shiroe says and Krusty raises an eyebrow. He infiltrated a Silver Sword base within a few hours?

"Are they becoming allies with Honesty?" Krusty asks. If a kingdom like Silver Sword needs to gather soldiers for a war, it would mean that they intend to attack one of the strongest kingdoms. Currently, D.D.D., Black Sword, Honesty, Silver Sword and Plant Hwyaden are the five main kingdoms. Every one of them is equally threatening to each other - should any of them decide to start any wars.

"It's the opposite. They were insulting Honesty and devising gruesome plans to destroy them." Shiroe remarks casually.

"Interesting." Krusty muses. That changes things. It invites the appealing possibility that Silver Sword is going to war with Honesty. In that case, D.D.D. and Black Sword can let them fight it out without having to get involved.

"Something doesn't feel right." Shiroe sighs as he sits down onto his couch. Almost every soldier that he ran into was hating on Honesty in some way. It's hard to believe that they would be so obvious about it. But then again, Silver Sword isn't exactly known for their brains.

A shiver goes down his spine and he wonders how many years he has been under Krusty's reassuring protection if he was already forgetting the past. There is no reason to doubt that Silver Sword is getting ready for war.

"Well... for now just keep in mind that Silver Sword definitely intends to start a war and that Honesty is neutral at the moment. They haven't done anything. No need to overthink it." Shiroe adds. Despite the amount of trust he puts in Shiroe, Krusty is well aware that all of this is based on rumors. There won't be any impulsive mistakes.

"Aren't you forgetting something?" Krusty uses his arm to prop his head up on the desk.

"I don't think so? Well, I don't have anything else to report." Shiroe lies. Krusty couldn't possibly know that a group from Hamelin attacked him. He left that out because it didn't have any significance besides to irk Krusty. Plus, Hamelin wasn't an actual threat.

"Really now." Krusty uses one of his business smiles and Shiroe wants to punch the all-knowing look off of his face. "Alright then, thanks for your hard work Shiroe-kun. We'll get some rest and then head out tomorrow morning." Krusty says and begins to look over some papers. _Always keeping secrets, yet so overwhelmingly loyal._

"What are those papers for? I can take care of them for you." He walks around and leans over Krusty's shoulder to look at them. From Ryiz.

"He's just telling us that there's someone requesting to see me." Krusty slips the papers in his pocket and gets up. It happens pretty frequently so Shiroe just nods. After a few moments, Krusty breaks the silence.

"Doesn't it smell nice?" Krusty smirks. Shiroe notices a pleasant fragrance.

"Yeah, though I don't know why you're smirking about it." Shiroe says.

"I picked the scent myself." Krusty replies.

"Well... okay then. I'm going to take a shower." Shiroe stretches and walks over to the bathroom.

"Mhmm." Krusty lays down on the bed and stares up at the ceiling, still smirking. It soon fades when he takes out the papers. If he mentioned Marielle, Shiroe would probably rush into a trap.

* * *

"And that's pretty much it." Shiroe finishes.

"Wow, you found out all of that last night? Impressive." Isaac is reminded of the bodies they needed to clean up.

"What about Hamelin?" He asks. Shiroe's eyes widened. He had completely forgotten about the spy he had spotted earlier.

"Did you capture the spy from yesterday? The group I took down was a completely different group." Shiroe says. Isaac looks at him oddly.

"No, I meant-wait Krusty hasn't told you yet?" Isaac leans forward in his chair.

"Told me what?" Shiroe tilts his head. Isaac facepalms. These two really are the same. He recalls Shiroe telling him not to mention to Krusty that he was attacked.

"Krusty killed the spy last night outside of his room. I was hoping you guys came up with some type of conclusion about Hamelin since you were simultaneously targeted." He strokes his chin in thought.

"We didn't... Wait a second, there was no blood or anything outside of the room." Shiroe didn't recall anything strange.

"We cleaned up and put a temporary painting to block the hole in the wall, but it smelled terrible. You didn't notice?" Isaac exclaims. Shiroe shakes his head until he realizes.

_Doesn't it smell nice?_

That idiotic annoying manipulative pathetic excuse for a prince.

That was definitely his way of saying:

_I can keep secrets too._

* * *

"That was quick." Krusty laughed and Shiroe fumes.

"I can't believe you." He shakes his head. Truthfully, there was no way for him to argue since it was partly his fault. Krusty didn't have to mess with him like that though.

"Lesson learned. You guys are both liars." Isaac grins and pats Krusty on the back.

"Not saying something isn't the same as lying," Shiroe mutters and Krusty smiles while whispering, "I seem to recall someone lying about there being nothing else left to report." Shiroe retorts, "Because I wasn't planning to report it. That doesn't count." Isaac interrupts them with a cough.

"I contacted the allies I mentioned earlier. They'll arrive in a few days time." Isaac states and Krusty nods.

"Let's hope it works out. We'll meet up again in the near future." Krusty swings himself onto his horse and Shiroe does the same.

"See you soon, Isaac-san." Shiroe says before following behind Krusty.

* * *

"Ryiz-sama." The same female servant appears at the door. Ryiz looks up.

"Krusty-sama and Shiroe-sama have returned." She reports and he nods.

"Umm sir? Weren't you suspicious of the guests?" She asks. Ryiz puts polka dots in ink all over his papers.

"Yes." He replies.

"Should I let Krusty-sama know?" She presses.

"No. He can figure out something like that on his own." Ryiz gestures for her to leave and she does quietly.

Even if Krusty doesn't figure out - which is doubtful - Shiroe would know in an instant. Then again, Ryiz smiles to himself. Knowing Krusty, it is likely that Shiroe doesn't even know that it involves Marielle.

* * *

Echoes of 'welcome back' roar throughout the kingdom as Krusty and Shiroe make their way towards the palace.

"I'm pleased to be home. We'll celebrate tomorrow." Krusty announces as he enters the palace. Shiroe smiles. It's been quite a while since they last did that.

The message spreads to the population and the entire town is bright with cheers and laughter. A feast is to be held in the palace square which is a huge piece of land below the palace. People of all classes can roam, eat and mingle. Krusty and Shiroe stay on a large balcony with a view of the feast where they can toast to the people below. Dancers, sword fighting and other entertainment will light up the kingdom tomorrow.

That also means that Shiroe is going to have to wear something fancy. It wasn't that he didn't like wearing nice clothes. It's just the idea of wearing something that's probably more expensive than he is, doesn't exactly appeal to him.

When they get back, Shiroe takes Krusty's jacket and after passing it to another servant to clean, he sits at his desk in Krusty's room.

Krusty eyes Shiroe who quietly takes a shaky breath.

"I'm going to go greet our guests." Krusty stands up.

"I'll meet you there." Shiroe says, but Krusty shakes his head. He walks behind Shiroe who follows him with his eyes. Calmly, he lets his right arm rest lazily over Shiroe's right shoulder and Shiroe looks at him questioningly. Suddenly, Krusty sneaks his left hand over Shiroe's left shoulder and tries to press his palm onto Shiroe's chest to feel his heartbeat. Shiroe sharply intakes his breath and grabs the hand before it can make contact.

"Don't." Shiroe wheezes trying to keep the desperation out of his voice. It doesn't work.

"Your breathing has no pattern." Krusty murmurs slowly. Shiroe swallows.

"Time it with mine."

"Krusty-"

"Do it." He commands.

Shiroe closes his eyes and he can feel Krusty's peaceful heartbeat behind him. He slows down his breathing to match Krusty's. It takes a while before the tremor that is shaking up his body quiets down. He lets out even breaths and his body starts to go back to normal.

"Sorry." Shiroe mumbles and Krusty releases him gently without responding. This isn't the first time this has happened. Occasionally, Shiroe's body goes into shock. All he's told Krusty is that in the past a few drugs were injected into him. The obvious meaning behind it is left unspoken. Experimenting.

"Stay here and sleep. If I don't find you sleeping on that bed when I get back," Krusty nods to his overly large bed, "I'll thoroughly humiliate you tomorrow." He was clearly irritated that Shiroe didn't say anything. Just like this isn't the first time this has happened, it is definitely not the first time Shiroe has kept it a secret.

"But there are papers for tomorrow's celebration to fill out." Shiroe pleads knowing that an 'I'm fine, really' isn't going to cut it. Krusty looks Shiroe in the eyes.

"It's an order." Krusty states almost sadly, a mixture of controlled anger and worry apparent. Shiroe's eyes widen.

"Unfortunately, it isn't your decision to make." He leaves the room, slamming the door behind him. Shiroe can't remember the last time Krusty has had to order him to do something. There was an unpleasant feeling about it. Krusty's last resort, etched into the laws of D.D.D. kingdom.

_Nobody without permission from the king and queen themselves, can disobey a direct order from the prince._

Shiroe grits his teeth and lies down on the bed.

As his hair spreads out onto his pillow, he is reminded of a person completely unlike Krusty who had ordered him to bed.

* * *

HEYYY GUYS HOW'S LIFE? The cruise was amazing, and I feel much fatter.

I only managed to write a little on the boat, but when I got back home this just wrote itself.

_Issac exits out the door without waiting for a response_ BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT MEN DO. idk that was running through my head for some reason.

KruShi bickering is the best kind of bickering and I hope you guys had some feels in this chappie.

This chapter was a bit confusing to follow, since there were references to things from before. If you have any questions, send it my way! By the way, the guests are friends of Marielle not Marielle herself. She is missing right now.

LOL I tend to hint kind of obviously.

TERRI: AWHHH THANK YOUUU! Personal Assistant hehehe. PSSSH modestttt You should tell me your account so we can pm! :DDD

MEEP: CRIES. OKAY WE CAN STILL BOND THROUGH REVIEWS. YUP SHIROE NEEDS SOME LOVE GUYS :DDDD


	4. A Beautiful Shadow

~ A Beautiful Shadow ~

* * *

"Someone's in a bad mood." Ryiz says amused, as he hears Krusty's door slam from across the hall. Krusty's footsteps stop for a moment as if thinking about something, but he resumes walking past Ryiz's door.

Krusty sighs. There are very _very_ few people that can annoy him as much as Shiroe does and frankly, it was getting to be a routine.

He turns and enters a wide balcony passage with a wall to his right and a courtyard over the railing to his left.

"Welcome back, Krusty. Why are you in such a hurry?" A familiar charming voice manifests behind him and he turns around to see the approaching king and his two aides.

"Father. I was going to greet some guests." Krusty bows politely.

"Shiroe isn't with you?" He asks casually and Krusty bites his lip, not exactly in the mood to be reminded of the other. He moves to rest his arms on the railing and the sight of a blindingly beautiful fountain greets him. It's the sculpture of an angel with water pouring out of it's wings.

"No, he's resting right now. Is that a new fountain?" He says distractedly.

"Yeah, it was a gift from Honesty kingdom - I hear they have connections to that Roderick Merchant Firm. They must've really liked the white horse statue Shiroe had the Marine Agency make for them." The king snickers at Krusty's rolling eyes. Somehow no matter what Krusty talks about - it ends up coming back to Shiroe.

"Indeed, it was a rather wise decision of him. Now if you'll excuse me, I'll take my leave." Krusty bows again.

"You know, you should really consider having some other bodyguards. In his line of work, anything could happen." The king says - clearly referring to Shiroe - while Krusty is walking away. "When he's not around, you'll need someone to protect you. Don't forget that you're a prince."

Krusty pauses in his tracks but lets a smirk slip out, "Ah but you see, Shiroe-kun would get hopelessly jealous if I kept someone else around." The king laughs.

"But there's no need to worry. There's someone special around lately." He says and continues walking.

Confused, the king looks at the retreating figure of his son and notices another shadow. The shadow bows before disappearing once again - never once revealing it's face.

"Sire?" One of the aides behind him speaks up and he chuckles.

"The shadows are becoming even more beautiful these days."

* * *

"There is still time to leave." A voice whispers to the others. The rest of them shake their heads.

"Hien, we're ready to die with you." Eisel lays a hand on his shoulder and Hien swallows.

"I really didn't want you guys to come with me." Hien sighs. "But now that we're here, let's hope by doing this, we'll make a difference."

"Of course we will, Hien." The five of them nod.

"Please come this way." A female guard beckons them to a huge and beautiful golden blue door.

"You won't have much time. Krusty-sama made an exception for your request for an audience with him because of your credible relation with Shiroe-sama's acquaintance. You may enter." The guards open the door and Hien can hardly believe that the prince is right in front of him. The five of them walk in and bow on one knee. Krusty orders for the guards to leave them alone and the door closes.

"There's no need to be formal. Tell me what you wish to discuss." Krusty says. It is as Hien heard, Krusty keeps nobody around but Shiroe - who by some miracle isn't here at the moment. This is their chance.

All five of them lunge forward towards the throne Krusty is sitting on with practiced timing. Krusty doesn't show any sort of surprise and Hien notices it a second too late.

A series of kicks has all of them flying backwards and landing with their backs on the floor.

"You're far too unaware." Akatsuki remarks coldly towards Krusty.

"I didn't ask you to ruin my fun." He shrugs. She scowls. Hien looks around to see Eisel and the others knocked out.

Krusty gets up and crouches beside Hien - who doesn't have the energy to move.

"Of course you would have another servant around." Hien coughs bitterly.

"I'm not his servant, fool." Akatsuki says from somewhere behind Krusty.

"Who ordered you to kill me?" Krusty asks.

"Nobody. I wanted to do it." Hien murmurs. "Not only did Marielle go missing, but your people forced Shoryu to join the army. They didn't even let him say goodbye!"

"My kingdom doesn't draft people." Krusty responds simply.

"Lies! Our orphanage is right next to D.D.D., the other kingdoms wouldn't come all the way out here to _draft_ someone!" Hien snaps.

"What evidence is there that he was drafted?" Krusty inquires.

"What do you think?! Because he left us a note saying that he has no other choice but to join the army!" Hien yells in disbelief. Who in their right mind would try to assassinate a prince without some solid evidence?

Krusty looks down at him thoughtfully.

"Guards!" Krusty calls and two of them enter the room. Akatsuki disappears and Hien closes his eyes, ready to be killed on the spot.

"What happened?! Are you alright, Krusty-sama?" The guards quickly run up to the bodies on the ground.

"Check the list of soldiers for a Shoryu. Bring these five to one of the guest rooms. Immediately." Krusty adds and Hien looks up at him, surprised. Despite being a bit skeptical, the guards hurry to fulfill the order.

When everyone is gone from the room, Krusty sits back down on the throne.

"Thanks." He says to the other presence in the room and Akatsuki reappears next to him.

"There's nothing you should be thanking me for. I'm loyal to Shiroe-sama, not you." She replies easily and adds, "If he ordered me to kill you, I would - in a second." This only makes Krusty smile.

"I'll remember that."

* * *

When Krusty arrives back, Shiroe is already asleep. He rarely found the other sleeping in an actual bed, since Shiroe would pass out on desks so often.

Krusty takes his jacket off and unbuttons his inner clothing. He walks across the room to sit down on the large circular bed. He takes a moment to take in how Shiroe's childlike appearance without glasses. Sighing, he runs his hand through Shiroe's hair. After a moment, he yanks hard.

Shiroe jerks awake and Krusty smoothly hops off the bed before Shiroe can fully snap out of his sleepiness. Shiroe pulls a pillow - Krusty's pillow, though unfortunately they do change the pillows every day - over his head and groans into it.

"Naptime is over, Shiroe-kun." Krusty pours some newly brewed tea into a cup and brings it to his lips. Shiroe sits up, rubbing at his eyes. He finally remembers what happened before and all signs of exhaustion disappear. Krusty eyes him sympathetically.

"Oh right, thanks." Shiroe gets his glasses, slips off of the bed and by habit, takes and folds Krusty's jacket in his arms.

"Have some tea." Krusty sits down on one of the couches and picks up a book. Shiroe responds with a 'yeah' and goes to pour some for himself. While sipping it, someone knocks on the door.

"Yes?" Shiroe puts the cup down.

"The five guests have been put into a room as Krusty-sama ordered." The female voice explains and Shiroe raises an eyebrow. Krusty waves his hand in the air which Shiroe recognizes as a certain signal.

"Krusty isn't in at the moment but when he gets back, I'll let him know." Shiroe rolls his eyes at the thumbs up.

"Yes sir. And uh..." The voice trails off awkwardly.

"Is something the matter?" Shiroe asks.

"Well, Ryiz-sama said that if Krusty-sama wasn't in, to tell you to come by his room." She says unusually. Krusty whips around and Shiroe raises an amused eyebrow. Krusty makes a slicing throat gesture and despite it not being one of their signals, Shiroe gets it. He laughs and the female guard on the other side of the door probably misinterprets it.

"I'll consider it." He responds and because Krusty looks unsatisfied, he adds, "I'm quite busy because of Krusty-sama's selfish request to have a celebration tomorrow." One point for Shiroe.

"Understood." She says and after the footsteps disappear, Shiroe puts his hands on his hips.

"Technically it _is_ true though." Shiroe strides across the room to lean over the back of the couch and takes another sip of his tea. Krusty flips the page of his book.

"Better get to work then, personal assistant." Krusty yawns.

"Hey," Shiroe's voice suddenly turns more serious, "I don't really like talking about certain things but I still appreciate you." Shiroe goes to leaf through the papers from his desk and Krusty folds down the page of his book.

"I'm the same way. So don't apologize for something that isn't your fault. Honestly, it isn't like you." Krusty finishes his tea and Shiroe uses his papers to cover the bottom half of his face.

"Oh but Krusty_-sama_, I don't remember _apologizing_ for anything. I just told you that I appreciate you." Shiroe's glasses shine for a moment and he reaches across the desk for a feather to write with. Plus one hundred points for Shiroe.

"You're absolutely ridiculous." Krusty bites his lip.

Still, he finds it hilarious when a servant brings in more paperwork for Shiroe.

* * *

The next day, the celebration begins at five in the morning. The starting fireworks light the sky, but Shiroe finds the crowd of excited faces a more beautiful sight. However, nothing could compare to the night hours. Children run around with beaming faces and the torches set up around the palace square - blaze in a bright red dance. He's been to enough that he has a variety of metaphors to illustrate the _almost _indescribable beauty of this rare occasion.

"Where's Krusty?" He asks one of the guards on the balcony without looking away from the square below him. A group of girls notice him and wave happily. He waves back and they don't bother to hide their squeals.

"He's currently seeing to our guests." They say careful not to reveal anything. Krusty was strict about Shiroe not finding out who the guests were just yet.

"I was looking forward to the fruit slicing." Shiroe whispers to himself sadly. It made him think that they were on a tropical island with beautiful sculptures of fruit decorating the square. Except that this time there weren't enough fruit slicers available. He sighs, it was one of his favorite events.

The events begin at seven, but the booths set up around the palace square are all open already with extreme discounts, free items and various games. Shiroe was thankful that he didn't need to make an official appearance until then and was allowed to stay in his normal clothing.

Once the fireworks were done, there was loud applause and the citizens went back to enjoying the booths below.

* * *

"Why are you helping us? We did try to kill you." Hien asks slowly and Krusty leans back on the wall next to the door.

"I did intend to see if you knew something about Marielle's disappearance, but you don't seem to know anything helpful." He responds.

"But still -"

"There's nobody in the army named Shoryu." Krusty interrupts.

"Well... that doesn't prove anything! He could be using an alias." Hien shakes his head.

"Using an alias might sound easy, but to be able to react to a name that isn't your own is something that could determine your life in battle. And even so, is he the type of person to do that?" Krusty replies easily. Hien thinks back to the confident and straightforward friend he had grown attached to.

"This can't be right. He still left a letter." Hien pulls out the letter and hands it to Krusty. Krusty examines it.

Sure enough, it read: I have no choice but to join the army. Stay safe, Shoryu.

And it was true that it was too far away - not to mention, too close to D.D.D. - for any other army to draft him. Also, apparently it was a pretty small orphanage. There were no armies that would go to that much trouble.

"Ugh, I was hoping I wouldn't need to do this." Krusty holds his head in mock exhaustion. They definitely weren't expecting that reaction. Krusty whispers something to a guard outside and footsteps make it obvious that he sent the guard somewhere. When Krusty closes the door again, he looks at the five mentally worn-out teenagers. They probably felt out of place in the kingdom, since they lived on the outskirts in an orphanage for most of their lives.

"Hmm... would the five of you like to join the celebration?" Krusty crosses his arms.

"The celebration?" They chorus and Krusty noticed that their returned weapons - which had been taken away from them during their official visit - were swords.

"We're running low on fruit slicers." He smiles and they give him odd looks.

"Krusty-san!" Shiroe opens the door and when he sees the teens in the room, he covers his mouth.

"Hien? Eisel?" He runs up to them and crouches to make sure that they're uninjured. There hadn't been any time to go see them - though he did want to find out about Marielle. Speaking of which...

"We'll talk about this later, Krusty-san." Shiroe glares at the other who holds his hands up. He hands Shiroe the letter and Shiroe looks it over.

"If my guard told you the whole story, you would know that Shoryu was apparently drafted into our army. He left this note - I was hoping you could figure it out for me." Krusty smiles and Shiroe heaves a sigh, but looks over the paper. Within seconds, he looks up at the others.

"You guys said that they didn't let him say goodbye right? This note doesn't look like he's in a hurry." Shiroe looks back at it calmly and the others try to think.

"We were so overwhelmed by Marielle and Shoryu's disappearance that we didn't think too much about it. But still, what else could this possibly mean?" Eisel looks at the letter.

"And also... it almost sounds like he's declaring it. He has no choice but to join... It looks like he's _joining_ an army - he never did say draft, after all." Shiroe bites his lip.

"Marielle." Shiroe murmurs. "I think... I think Shoryu found out a clue about where Marielle is and he's joining an army to find her." Shiroe stands up.

"I asked Krusty-san and Isaac-san to do a search for Marielle and I assure you that she isn't in this kingdom or in Black Sword kingdom. Ever since she stopped contacting me..." Shiroe sighs. Krusty walks up to Shiroe and puts a hand on his shoulder.

"Sorry to interrupt, but it's already six. Shiroe-kun and I have to get ready to make our appearance on the balcony. And so, I want you all to enjoy this festival." Krusty grins.

"How could we-" Hien says desperately, they needed to find Shoryu and Marielle.

"You should go see it. After all that's happened, go have some fun and then afterwards, we'll set something up. We'll definitely find Marielle and Shoryu." Shiroe smiles and Hien calms down.

"There's an empty spot for fruit slicing at seven, Shiroe-kun." Krusty whispers. Shiroe's eyes widen.

"We need to hurry."

* * *

HOLAAAAA FOR FRUIT SLICING!

I like the idea of Krusty having a prosperous country. Guest appearance by me squealing over Shiroe LOL

KUFUFUFUFU AKATSUKI MAKES AN APPEARANCE.

HIEN AND SHORYU ARE A PAIRING BTW. Search them up yo. and Eisel is a person too LOL

This story is a little dark and it might possibly maybe go to an M rating. But don't fret, I will warn you about it and make it so that you can skip it if you want to. That's only if I put it in, of course.

You probably already know, but most of the time I answer reviews right before I update - wow you guys make me smile. LIKE A LOT.

Let me know what you think of this chapter ;)


	5. The Exception

~ The Exception ~

* * *

When Shoryu's eyes blink open, he's greeted by the roof of his tent. The glow of the tan material tells him that it's already morning. Sitting up, he reaches for the personal envelope on his desk and opens it. His missions for today are listed in code and a jumble of numbers at the bottom indicates what time he needed to be done by. He looks around and the large size of his tent reminds him of the past week.

Being already quite good with the sword and owning capable leadership skills, he was lucky to earn a decent spot in the fourth squad ranks despite being a young recruit. With satisfying mission results, he was moving to a new place practically each day. However, the only problem with being promoted is that someone else is demoted in the process. There are no additions without subtractions. That is the solid unchangeable rule here. Being demoted means losing privileges. The difference between each squad is devastating and it was difficult to get the image of begging soldiers he has overtaken, out of his head.

The fourth squad tent is the first to have an actual bed - tiny, but better than a mere blanket. In addition, he shares the tent with only seven other people and has his own work space. The fifth squad tent that he had been living in just yesterday held twenty people in a tent that was half the size of this one. The lower squads are starving and sleepless, but still blindly grasping for the hope of being promoted and getting the treatment of a king.

He almost felt bad that he was rising above actual loyal soldiers.

A few of the men who share his tent are still asleep but more of them are already out on their missions. There are no group missions this week so they're all in charge of themselves for the time being. If they don't file in a report by the indicated time, demotion is a very possible consequence.

In this army, friendship means weakness. Still, he slides off of the bed and shakes the boy wrapped in blankets on the ground awake.

"Mmm... What is it?" The boy rubs at his eyes and Shoryu tugs on his blanket.

"It's time to get up. I didn't want you to oversleep." Shoryu whispers and the only noise is the soft snoring of another soldier. Touya nods and stretches.

"Get your stuff and meet me at the gates." Shoryu says and Touya wobbles out of the tent. Shoryu folds the warm blankets and pushes them underneath his desk. Because there are so many soldiers, nobody is monitored that closely. There is no harm in sneaking a seventh squad soldier into his tent.

He doesn't need to worry about being punished either. Soldiers have the freedom to order around people in squads below them as well as use them for pretty much anything. It's a rule that is supposed to ultimately prove the loyalty of each individual soldier and to see how much each one can handle before they crack. Plenty of soldiers keep others in their tents to entertain their boredom and lower ranked soldiers often use the opportunity to steal some benefits.

But he is **not** using Touya. Touya is his only friend in this disgusting excuse for an army and he adores him. Touya's twin sister Minori was living in better conditions because he joined the army and the kid was always fun to be around.

The way he described the army made it seem like there were no women, but that was far from the truth. The tents separated men from women for obvious reasons, but there were women all around the camp. Because strength is valued over anything, gender has no meaning whatsoever. Females eat, sleep and die like men.

Shoryu gets dressed and gathers his weapons, strapping them onto his white uniform. He takes a breath and exits the tent with his missions tucked into his pocket. On his way to the gates which separate the army from town - his preferred spot to meet with Touya - he passes by various tents. He was already adjusted to the cruel atmosphere of the army, but he wasn't planning to let it dent his personality.

"Please." A voice coughs and Shoryu whips around to find a familiar man that he had taken the spot of recently, on his knees.

"Show mercy. I want my tent back!" He cries. Shoryu notices his beard is dripping with beer. Fifth squad was actually a decent place, but making the transition would definitely be painful.

"I'm sorry." Shoryu says and proceeds to walk away. He's been through this before because not many approve of his quick promotions. They try to deter him from completing his missions and get him demoted to earn their spot back. But he wasn't going to falter. Not in public, at least.

"Give it... huk... give it buhack." The man advances and Shoryu turns around. If he lets the man follow him, he might end up using Touya as a hostage and that was something he could not afford.

But before he can do anything, the man is headless. A bit of blood lands on his face, but the cut is so quick and practiced that most of it hits the ground in an instant. A boot steps on the head, rolling it back and forth slowly.

"Dinkuron-sama." Shoryu is down on one knee just as quickly. He's expecting the renowned first squad member to brush past or kill him on the spot. He certainly isn't expecting recognition.

"Shoryu, was it?" Dinkuron sheathes his sword, still not withdrawing his boot. By now there are a few soldiers stopped dead in their tracks, watching the scene unfold before their eyes.

"Yes." Shoryu responds and after a long pause he remembers to add. "Sir." Dinkuron wouldn't have cared either way but the addition of another word makes the hidden sarcastic tone slightly noticeable. He raises an eyebrow because the sarcasm is so imperceptible, it could easily just be part of Shoryu's natural voice.

"You're the kid who jumped up to fourth squad in a week, right?" He kicks the head so it rolls in front of Shoryu, a shocked face staring up at him.

"Yes sir." Shoryu says again, not sure how else to respond without possibly offending the other man. He never actually spoke to a first squad officer directly before.

"Keep up the good work then." He says. After a moment, he nods towards Shoryu and one of the soldiers behind him steps forward to give him a white and silver handkerchief. He takes it and soon after, the men are already gone. There are still other soldiers watching him as he gets up. He's about to use the handkerchief to wipe his face when someone stops him.

"HEY HEY, what the hell are you doing?!" He holds onto Shoryu's wrist and Shoryu tilts his head questioningly.

"That's an official invitation to the first squad quarters!" The other fourth squad member shouts and a few people come to gaze at it. A handkerchief is an invitation?! They could've made that more clear.

"Why did he give me this?" Shoryu looks at the white material with an elegant silver lining. The only indication of the invite is a silver "1" written in pretty calligraphy.

"Maybe he acknowledges you or something? The first squad quarters is the only one off-limits to all of the soldiers. Those tents you see up there," He points to the white and silver tents that stand like mountains. All of them are extremely huge, but the middle one towers over the others. "Those are for the seven first squad members. The biggest one belongs to William-sama, the first prince - though I hear that he rarely ever uses it. He prefers the palace, unless he's on military business. You didn't know this?!" He finishes excitedly and Shoryu shakes his head.

"I only knew the names and faces of the seven." He says and now he realizes that his true target has been so close all along.

"Welcome officially to Silver Sword army then."

* * *

"There." Shiroe puts the beautiful sparkling ice blue crown - made of special glass - on Krusty's head as a finishing touch. He take a minute to appreciate the work put into this outfit.

"This looks perfect." He says to the stylists who give him a thumbs up in return.

"We have one for Shiroe-sama too!" They clap excitedly and Shiroe looks back at Krusty's blinding outfit.

"Uhm." He says in polite protest and they shake their heads.

"No no no, yours is different." A few servants come in with another blue outfit which has a lighter and simpler feel to it. Shiroe sighs in relief. The servants proceed to put the outfit on him and it fits comfortably.

"Thank you." He says and the bottom of the robe-like attire floats down, barely touching the ground. Krusty stifles laughter and before he can ask who died, one of the servants places a light blue veil on Shiroe's head. Shiroe looks at them in disbelief.

"Am I getting married or something?" He fingers the material and the only reaction is fits of giggling.

"Of course not, it's a personal assistant thing." The maid waves her hand as if shooing his objections. "Customs and all that."

"Alright, we're ready." Krusty nods towards the balcony and they walk to the edge. They have a full view of the crowd cheering up at them.

"Please enjoy yourselves! Let's pray for another safe and healthy year!" Krusty announces and the citizens cheer once again. Both of them are handed glasses of wine and they toast to the people below. Ryiz, the king and the queen would make their appearances later in the day. Shiroe looks down as the fruit slicing event begins.

In the center of the square, Hien and his friends are surrounded by tables. Hien reaches under one of the tables and pulls out the boxes of fruit. They throw them into the air and slice them apart - laughing when the fruit flies in different directions. Pretty blue sheets catch the fallen pieces.

Gathering the fruit, talented servants use wooden sticks to connect the fruit and make various different sculptures. A watermelon shark, a pineapple porcupine, orange fishes and other items are put on display. Shiroe's favorite would have to be the fruit flowers, but the shark is a _very_ close second.

While Shiroe stares at the fruit in awe, Krusty is busy evaluating the swordsmanship of the group.

* * *

"Want one?" Ryiz gestures to the platter of fruit flowers. Shiroe sits down in front of the table.

"What do you need? Krusty-san knows that you invited me by the way." Shiroe replies while eating and Ryiz just smirks.

"My servant reported that you laughed during her conversation with you. Hence, I already concluded that my dear brother was in the room." He plucks a pineapple petal and eats it. Shiroe doesn't respond and Ryiz pats him on the shoulder.

"I have some news for you." Ryiz hands him a folder.

"One of my spies found Marielle. She's currently a favorite of the prince of Silver Sword kingdom, William Massachusetts. He seems to have taken a liking to her, though I don't know why she would go to that kingdom willingly - knowing their reputation." Ryiz explains and Shiroe's eyes widen.

"You looked for her?" Shiroe closes the folder and Ryiz shrugs.

"My network stretches into all of the kingdoms and finding someone close to a prince isn't particularly difficult, per se. I love making you and Krusty owe me one, so don't go over thinking it. Now leave. I get this feeling you're going to thank me and it sounds fake every time you do it." Ryiz stands up and walks over to his bed.

"Take that fruit platter too. It's crowding up the room." Ryiz takes off his jacket. Shiroe laughs because the room is bigger than Krusty's and even an elephant wouldn't crowd up the room.

"Yes, yes. Goodnight." He takes the platter and closes the door behind him. His expression almost immediately morphs into a frown.

There was only one reason Marielle would go to Silver Sword. Shiroe clutches the platter tightly and continues walking. He would get her back.

* * *

"I want you five to join my army. I'll put you under special training and it'll be your best chance of getting to Marielle." Krusty says and without hesitating, Hien nods. Hien had already talked it over with the others and they planned to ask Krusty in the first place.

"I understand. During this festival, we realized that we were mistaken about you. We're really sorry about everything." They bow and Krusty ruffles Hien's hair.

"Keep in mind that you'll be treated fairly here. If something happens, any complaints or problems should be resolved peacefully - though I won't deny that violence is often necessary. You're all officially citizens of D.D.D. kingdom and I want you to remember that you're all free."

"Thank you very much!" They chorus.

There was a certain personal assistant that wasn't exactly _free_, but well...

Shiroe wouldn't mind.

* * *

SHORT EXPLANATION OF THIS CHAPTER (SILVER SWORD) HERE:

I have this obsession with rankings, so Silver Sword army is kinda like a way of fulfilling my fantasy. Sorry if it was confusing - I threw out a lot of information. Basically the squads are numbered, squad one being the best and so on. Shoryu's only been there for a week and during that time Hien and the others got to Krusty.

There are seven members listed in Silver Sword on Log Horizon wiki and in this picture: (Just type googledotcomslash ugh fanfiction is getting harder to trick)

search?q=silver+sword+log+horizon&tbm=isch&ei=39vaU6X1MMWtyAS80IKACA#facrc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc=m4VEyg4NcXKhMM%253A%3BGlkwPRyujuS5LM%3Bhttp%253A%252F% . %252F_cb20131204225146%252Flog-horizon%252Fimages%252Fb%252Fb2% %3Bhttp%253A%252F% .com%252Fwiki%252FFile% %3B636%3B343

Dinkuron (guardian) is the one on the right and Prometheus (sorcerer) is the one on the left. (But this is a medieval AU so everyone uses swords pretty much) Since they're like so _hot_, I needed to put them in here LOL

SHOUT-OUT to DQueenie13 for clearing up the Silver Sword members :DDD You're the best!

I haven't read the novel or manga so feel free to correct me everyone XD

If you can't see the picture then search "silver sword log horizon" and it should be the first image.

* * *

LOL super long author's note AISH

I obviously love guy characters but I sometimes think that my lack of female characters seems sexist. Which reminds me! If you have a favorite character that you want to see more in this story - tell me tell me :)

When I went on the cruise, they were sculpting animals out of fruit and I thought it would be an awesome idea for a tropical island or something. But most of the examples can be found on google images when searching "animal fruit sculptures". LOL and I was also really hungry while writing this. OTL

If you have any questions, let me know :DDD

Review or pm me everyoneeeee I love feedback :S kay kay kay

* * *

TO KaptainTwix: IM GLAD YOU LIKE IT! :DDD your comment made me so smiley omg.

TO MEEP: UGH I MISSED YOU WHY DID YOU LEAVE ME. XDDD YAY YOU'RE HAPPY, I'M HAPPY. Anything Shiroe likes is amazing - COUGH KRUSTY


	6. Developing Alliances

~ Developing Alliances ~

* * *

"Isaac-sama, the mercenaries have arrived." Rezarick reports from the window. Isaac nods and after finishing his glass of wine, motions for Rezarick to follow him. They leave the palace to enter the royal garden. The only garden more beautiful than theirs would be Plant Hwyaden's - but it was hard to compete with a kingdom that was practically a garden itself.

They're greeted by a garden overflowing with roses. The lush green bushes, clear blue ponds and pure white structures handcrafted by Marine Agency themselves are absolutely nothing in comparison to the intoxicating red flowers painted across nature.

It was hard to believe that the ever unyielding Shiroe could be so sensitive to the beautiful color. Krusty might not have said anything outright, but Isaac could determine that much himself. And yet, he still couldn't help but wonder if just _maybe_ the sight of this passionate red garden would cure Shiroe's anxiety.

His newly found appreciation for scenery is a sign of becoming soft. He shakes his head sharply and continues down the pathway.

He sits down at a white marble table underneath the shade of a nearby tree. The sun is out today and there's nothing better than being outside on a day like this. With nothing to do, he thinks of how he would soon be succeeding his elderly father as king. If only he was as lucky as Krusty to have parents that seemed practically the same age. Although he would definitely pass on having that daunting shadow of an older brother lurking around.

Rezarick tries to say something to snap Isaac out of his thoughts but someone silently quiets him. Across from him, a boy with long black-green hair tied up into a ponytail sits down.

"It's been a while, Isaac-san." Soujirou smiles innocently and Isaac shows no signs of being surprised.

"So it has. I see your men - or women, shall I say, are still as attached to you as ever." Isaac's eyes flicker towards Nazuna, who stays on one knee and doesn't look up.

"Jealous, perhaps?" Soujirou says uncharacteristically, clearly playing around with the other man. There were countless women after Isaac, though he never seemed to be interested. Isaac sends him a crooked smile which accounts for everything he doesn't say.

"Maybe." He answers knowingly. Soujirou can think of _several_ witty responses that Isaac could've used, but 'maybe' is not one of them. There are so many underlying messages that Rezarick and Nazuna, thankfully, don't notice.

After a few seconds of silent staring, Soujirou asks for a glass of water and the tense atmosphere practically evaporates. For two men with totally different responsibilities - either a kingdom or an underground business - there needs to be strict evaluation before carelessly settling in.

"So what did you call me for? I don't think I have to remind you that you're too fond of overusing my services." He motions to the building where his men are currently residing at. "My permanently reserved building next to the palace is probably enough proof of that." Rezarick stifles laughter and Isaac sighs.

"Did I interrupt a vacation or something? You seem a little hostile today. More than the usual, of course." Isaac crosses his arms and leans back in his chair. Despite his frequent use of the West Wind Brigade to settle certain issues secretly, he did spoil Soujirou enough to account for it.

"We were invited to one of Honesty's beach parties." Soujirou pouts cutely, slipping back into his real personality as an innocent little boy. Though he constantly says it's just a facade to trap customers, Isaac knows better. This boy was born to be cute.

"We have plenty of beaches here too." Isaac responds casually, addressing his earlier remark and Soujirou ignores him in favor of eating the newly arrived cake. He doesn't know how long it's been happening, but recently Isaac can tell when Soujirou lies.

And he lies _a lot._

Honesty? How is aware that the West Wind Brigade is a very favored group for various kingdoms and Honesty is no exception. The only problem is that they're also notoriously feared and dangerous. Being in public at a _beach party _was a risk that they wouldn't dare to take. Unfortunately Isaac wasn't around someone like Shiroe all the time who practically **only**tells lies, so he wasn't quite as gifted as Krusty was, at figuring out the truth.

There are still many things he doesn't know about Soujirou. A while ago, he had heard an ominous rumor about the collapse of a charity group called the East Wind Brigade. Apparently, Soujirou single-handedly massacred every single one of them. He was never quite compelled to ask about it, but he's definitely interested. The event supposedly happened long before Isaac had even met the boy.

When they met, he was under a lot of stress and went to Soujirou as per Shiroe's recommendation. The problem literally died out. Despite his delicate looks, Soujirou is undoubtedly strong.

And that was why he was spending his day watching a boy devour a piece of cake.

"The red velvet cakes are amazing here." Soujirou holds his cheeks in bliss. Isaac raises an eyebrow.

"It tastes the same as always." He responds and cowers jokingly when Soujirou gasps loudly.

"I can't even eat red velvet cakes at other kingdoms now because of these. You're just lucky you live here." He takes another bite.

"Why don't you live here then?"

Soujirou knows its a genuine offer and pales a little bit. Something tightens in his stomach but he blames it on the cake. _Maybe it was one of those 'battle-hardened warriors don't take kindness well' complexes?_ Isaac supposes.

"I'll have people pack some up for you when you leave. Now I should start explaining why I called you here." Isaac changes the subject and Soujirou nods.

"According to Shiroe, it is likely - actually _very_ likely that Silver Sword is planning to start a war." Isaac notices that Shiroe's name seems to have a strong influence on most people. Especially because Soujirou knows him in person.

"I'm aware of that." Soujirou lets his empty plate get taken away and dabs his perfectly clean mouth with a napkin. "Silver Sword proposed that we join them sometime last week. The odds will apparently be in their favor, though I can't see how they can get most of the main five kingdoms on their side. You've probably heard how they talk about Honesty. Your Black Sword and D.D.D. aren't joining them either."

"And the only force strong enough to come anywhere close to the five kingdoms is the West Wind Brigade." Isaac bites his lip in thought.

"There are a few mercenary groups that have risen up lately. I can give you a list of them. Most of them have made contact with me at some point." Soujirou tells Nazuna to organize it. She leaves quickly. Isaac knew it was a good idea to contact them, mainly because they reined at the top of the entire underground network.

"Are there any groups that are recently gaining fame? I think I'll be asking other experts about anything that could give them the confidence to start a war." Isaac questions. It might seem a little overboard for a war that might not even start, but Silver Sword has always been distant. It's been many years since one of the five kingdoms prepared for battle and if they intend to attack, Isaac will be ready for it.

"I'm going to be here for a while, I presume?" Soujirou pushes air into one cheek adorably. He smiles when an entire cake is placed in front of him.

"Did I mention that I love Rezarick-san?" Soujirou thanks the man who bows slightly.

"Only every single time you visit." Isaac drawls.

"He gives me cake though." Soujirou says, and Isaac can tell that he's already started thinking about the faces and names of his rivals.

"Recently there are a few groups like Blue Impact, Canossa and Tidal Clan who are making names for themselves by doing petty deeds. They mostly dab in stealing and none of them would survive in the five kingdoms." Soujirou knows firsthand how difficult it is to get around with crime in places like D.D.D. and Honesty. The other kingdoms were more lenient, but if any group proved to be an actual problem they would be eliminated easily.

"Dread Pack is a small group of loser tricksters that don't seem like a threat, but they're good at things like sabotage, backstabbing and deceiving. I hear that they're currently running around D.D.D. somewhere. And Brigandia is almost the opposite. Brute strength above all, but lacking in brains. They have a base in Silver Sword so I guess you can consider them allies already." Soujirou shrugs. "But I've never considered any of them to be threatening to my men."

"Shouldn't we tell Krusty about Dread Pack?" He smirks.

"No worries there. Shiroe has known about them for ages, but I hear someone he knows has offered to take care of them." Soujirou wipes some cake off his lip.

"There's actually one important group that I'm forgetting. But -" Soujirou notices Nazuna walking towards them. "Thank you, Nazuna."

"That was quick." Isaac watches Soujirou take the papers.

"This was prepared already. You aren't the only one who wants to know what groups are getting dangerous." He replies and pushes the cake aside.

"You tell everyone this information?" Isaac asks in disbelief.

"You're the second person. Shiroe-san asked for these and told me to write another copy for you." Soujirou laughs. Isaac rolls his eyes - just when he thought he was getting ahead of D.D.D.

"Ah! Now I know which one I forgot. They're really brutal these days." Soujirou continues reading.

"Who?" Isaac shifts in his seat.

"Hamelin."

* * *

"You made contact with Shiroe?" A voice inquires.

"Yeah. We can join you now, right?" Schreider, the leader of Hamelin replies while somewhat annoyed that his men weren't able to capture the target. This Shiroe guy massacred an entire squad of some decent Hamelin members.

"I don't remember saying that you couldn't join us." The voice replies mockingly. Schreider is taken aback by his response.

"What? _You_ wanted us to prove ourselves by hunting this guy down!" Schreider says from outside of the tent.

"Twisting words makes you sound weak and worthless."

"But this guy-"

"If you refer to Shiroe as 'this guy' again, I'll slice your head off." The voice cuts through the air like a knife. With the threat at his throat, Schreider gulps.

"We asked you if we could join and you didn't answer. You only said to find th- Shiroe and that's it!" Schreider ends more forcefully.

"I never said anything other than that. You _are_ staying here, are you not?"

"What should we do now then?" Schreider's voice drops slightly. Hamelin didn't have enough money to feed, shelter and profit at the same time anymore. Schreider reminds himself that maybe this man was scary, but _they _were using him - not the other way around.

"Await orders." is the only reply. Schreider is about to leave when the voice stops him in his tracks again.

"Do keep in mind. Unless you enjoy having your head separated from your body, speak with respect. There are some with _much_ less patience than I have." The voice once again sends tingles up Schreider's spine though he has never spoken face to face with the man just yet.

"I-I understand, William-sama." He says quickly and walks away.

In the tent, William rolls his eyes.

"Such incompetence." Shirtless, he steps off the couch and grabs a glass of water. He glances at the man sleeping in his bed.

"Karashin, get up." William orders and the man stirs awake. After a few seconds, Karashin sits up and struggles to open his eyes.

"It's not morning yet." He mumbles as he notices the candle lighting up the enormous tent.

"Entertain me." William ignores his complaint and swirls the water in his glass. Karashin falls back onto his pillows.

"Then get over here."

* * *

A/N: :Q ... ... ...

Okay so crack everywhere but Log Horizon doesn't ever give me enough yaoi :3 Expect any and all pairings like seriously I'M SO SHIP DEPRIVED THAT IT DOESN'T EVEN MATTER. XDDD

All of the mercenary groups are PK guilds. Dread Pack is that band of losers that Shiroe, Naotsugu and Akatsuki knocked out. I think you guys remember Brigandia and Hamelin.

Soujirou is a little OOC here because I was thinking that his normal cutesy personality would clash with his leader-of-the-crime-world-type image in this story. West Wind Brigade takes care of things like assassinations and hardcore missions.

William is intelligent boss-level. He's not your bwahaha-here's-the-self-destruct-button-on-my-evil-plans antagonist.

I absolutely love Karashin's voice actor, so I kinda give him more credit than he deserves as a character XD THIS SHOULD ALREADY BE RATED M BUT IM HOLDING OFF FOR A BIT.

* * *

KaptainTwix: :D AWH THANKS AGAIN!


	7. Secrets Don't Last Long

~ Secrets Don't Last Long ~

* * *

**EDIT: The Silver Sword members' names have been fixed! (Ragoumaru is actually Dinkuron.) Chapter 5 has also been fixed. Special thanks to DQueenie13!**

* * *

Shoryu kicks the wooden door with his boot and it flings open. Touya rushes in and notices a chubby man in the corner of the room.

"Are you the one that's not paying your rent?" Touya demands, holding out his sword. The man slinks further back into his corner. Shoryu looks around. This room would definitely cost a lot of money to rent out.

"We have orders to take you into custody." Shoryu says calmly.

"I understand! I-I just didn't have enough money, please allow me to pay it tomorrow." He speaks hastily. Touya's expression crumbles at the desperation in his voice. If the man fought back, it would probably make the job easier for them.

"We're here because you couldn't pay it for an entire month, sir." Shoryu replies steadily, expecting some backlash.

"I'll get it somehow! I just needed to feed my little sister!" He cries. It wasn't a lie. This man has a sister, but he still needs to settle his debts. Touya's mission is to make him pay or move this man out forcefully. Shoryu sighs when he sees Touya's hands shaking.

"Touya, go back. This is your last mission, I'll take care of it for you." Shoryu puts a hand on his shoulder. Touya seems to hesitate, but he nods and leaves the room.

"If the army has to interfere, you should understand your situation." Shoryu explains. The man nods. Before they leave, Shoryu sighs.

"Listen carefully. If you sell this room, you'll have enough money to pay everything off. It might be something your parents left for you, but you need to focus on what's important. There's a place nearby that isn't nearly as nice, but it'll be better." He tells him.

"Are you sure?" He responds.

"Yes."

The mission wraps up, and he can't help but think that Touya is really unlucky to run into this kind of issue. He helped Touya finish all of his missions, but he still had his own to complete. During the time he spends here, it becomes more clear that there's some reason to what Silver Sword is doing. However, it's far from perfect.

After all, he won't forget why he came here in the first place.

* * *

_Whack! Whack! Whack!_

"Any preferences for lunch today?" Shiroe blocks a slash from above. While Krusty thinks about it, Shiroe uses that moment to swing his wooden sword sideways. Krusty reflexively moves to block it but the force of Shiroe's weapon drives his own sword towards his body. If it had been steel, it might've broke skin.

"Uncalled for." Krusty chastises teasingly as he snaps his wrist and knocks the sword away. Shiroe grins, falling back and planting his sword into the ground.

"No lunch, then?" He provokes, leaning forward on the bottom of his sword. Krusty shakes his head.

"Playing dirty as always." Krusty motions with his sword for Shiroe to pick his up. He does so and twirls it in his hand.

"And you're completely innocent?" Shiroe asks with a hand on his hip and Krusty lunges forward. His sword is almost knocked out of his hand, but he grips hard. There's little time to celebrate, as Krusty pushes him to the ground in a flash.

"I don't need to cheat to win." Krusty replies while resting his knees on top of Shiroe's arms. Krusty nonchalantly puts his wooden sword to the other's neck and Shiroe's hair fans out around his head.

"You're older." Shiroe says simply and Krusty scoffs while getting up.

"Isn't it because I'm the one who taught you?" Krusty says playfully. Shiroe's eyes flicker for a moment and he doesn't make a move to get up.

"You were pretty decent when we started though." Krusty continues.

"To think there are people who would die to be taught by you." Shiroe mocks, while still lying on the ground.

"Feel special?" Krusty teases.

"Not really. I think all those people would be pretty disappointed." Shiroe grins and pulls himself up to stop Krusty from jabbing him. Something crosses Krusty's mind and he slows down his attack.

"I wanted to ask you what you knew about Marielle-san. We _are_ looking for her, after all." Krusty says and a series of slashes brings Shiroe across the courtyard, against a pillar.

"I met her while I was at Silver Sword. We came to D.D.D. together and she started up the Crescent Moon orphanage around the time I met you. That's when we started drifting apart. Too much paperwork, you see." He grins and slides his way around the pillar, but Krusty meets him on the other side.

"First love?" Krusty comments curiously and Shiroe just barely stops himself from crashing into him. He jerks backwards and drags his sword along the ground.

"I don't see how you drew that conclusion. But if it bothers you so much, I guess it wouldn't hurt to say that I had no feelings for Marielle-san. She's just... a friend I really care about." Shiroe responds carefully and swings his sword at Krusty.

"I can't imagine that you've had no experience in a relationship." Krusty raises an eyebrow but keeps a smile on his face.

"What about you, then?" Shiroe avoids falling for Krusty's conversational traps. Krusty smirks.

"Surely, you know already." And the way he says it kind of ticks Shiroe off. Krusty finds himself evading more attacks that could possibly damage his face.

"Enlighten me." Shiroe reacts smoothly. Krusty knocks away his sword this time and presses him against the castle wall.

"All in preparation for you, of course."

"Ahem."

Both of them turn their heads towards the new voice and Akatsuki stares at them uninterestedly.

"We're in the middle of something-" Krusty starts but Shiroe knows better than to let him finish.

"What's the matter, Akatsuki?" He breathes out. They've been sparring for a few hours already.

"Shiroe-sama, do you need me to dispose of anything?" She asks looking directly at Krusty.

"The garbage workers already left for today, but there are plenty of open positions." Krusty taunts and Akatsuki rolls her eyes.

"I was coming to summon you for lunch, Shiroe-sama. Naotsugu and I are to be training the new recruits, I believe?" She responds, ignoring Krusty.

"Yes, that's right." Shiroe says and Krusty finally pulls away.

"Since you asked earlier, I want some steak. Mind preparing it for me, Shiroe-kun?" Krusty says while receiving a towel from a nearby maid. Shiroe takes his own towel.

"Akatsuki, thanks for reminding me early. We'll be there on time." He says and follows Krusty towards the castle.

* * *

Shoryu sighs as he finally finishes reporting his own missions. He knows well enough that Touya can take care of himself, but it's still nice to help the kid out.

Since he took care of all his missions in the morning, now he had time to relax. Instead of returning to his tent, he decided to go find Touya and bring the other for lunch.

There's always a chance that Touya would be with his sister. Just thinking about those adorable twins brings a smile to his face.

Pulling aside the flaps of the tent, he's greeted by a few boys playing cards. They salute him, and he waves them off.

"Have any of you seen Touya?" He asks and their eyes widen.

"They just sent us a report, sir. We're getting a replacement for Touya. He's been demoted for not reporting in." One of them says and Shoryu starts to panic.

"He was with me. I sent him back a few hours ago! Where is he?" Shoryu asks hoping that they didn't do anything rash just yet.

"He's currently missing in action." Another one says and Shoryu leaves the tent immediately. Rushing back to his tent, he ignores the odd looks being sent his way.

"Come on, come on." He jumps into the tent and sifts through his belongings. Pulling out the handkerchief from before, he departs for the first squad tents.

* * *

"This is Naotsugu, the general of our army." Shiroe tells the five boys while finally taking his seat at the outdoor table next to Krusty.

"Nice to meet you, sir!" Eisel bows his head.

"I'm a close friend of Shiroe's. Nice to meet all of you too!" Naotsugu smiles. They look to Shiroe who doesn't deny it - though he settles for sipping his tea. Shiroe doesn't normally acknowledge people as his close friends so the statement has more impact than one would expect.

"And this is Akatsuki. I'll be having her train you, Hien." Shiroe says.

"Me?" Hien asks, surprised.

"Yes, I think you have potential to be a secret soldier. It's a difficult job but if you can keep up with Akatsuki, you could become quite the monster." Shiroe says approvingly but doesn't tell him that Akatsuki's supposed to go easy on him.

"I'll be in your care, miss." Hien bows and Akatsuki bows back silently.

"All of you have been trained pretty well by Nyanta-san at the orphanage, so I think having you enlist in the army as normal soldiers would be a waste." Shiroe says. He explains that Nyanta is a swordsman that comes by often.

"The food should be getting here soon." A servant bows. Shiroe watches as they engage in conversations and Naotsugu nudges him.

"I have something to report about today's mission." Naotsugu whispers.

"We'll talk after lunch." Shiroe murmurs.

* * *

"Dinkuron-sama gave me it." Shoryu says quickly and the guard eyes him suspiciously.

"You're the first fourth squad member with a handkerchief. I'll have to confirm this just in case." He announces but his facial expression changes when someone appears behind Shoryu.

A hand rests on Shoryu's shoulder, "Dinkuron really gave it to him. I'll escort him in now, so if you'll excuse us." The man takes the handkerchief back and the guard bows.

"Yes, Prometheus-sama."

"Thank you very much, Prometheus-sama." Shoryu says and Prometheus hands him back the handkerchief.

"Dinkuron isn't here right now. Is there something you need?" Prometheus asks and Shoryu's silent for a moment. Normally, he should report to one of the informational tents to find out about Touya, but something told him that it would be faster to go directly to the leaders since he could.

"I was wondering about seventh squad soldier, Touya. He should've returned by now and I believe all soldiers are supposed to be allowed a day before being demoted." Shoryu explains calmly. Prometheus is silent for a moment.

"I see. I'll deal with the problem myself. A few seventh squad soldiers were sent to patrol today because of an... emergency." Prometheus clarifies and Shoryu knows he shouldn't press for details.

"Well thank you, sir. Please let me know if you find out something." Shoryu adds with a bow and before he can leave, Prometheus grabs his shoulder.

"Do visit sometime. A few of us have taken an interest in you." Prometheus smiles and proceeds to walk down the road. Shoryu feels _that_ much closer to finding Marielle as he goes back. But now there was another person to worry about. He should check on Minori.

Meanwhile, Prometheus enters William's tent and bows.

"Prometheus, what were you doing? Tonight's the night." Dinkuron says while putting on his armor.

"I know. I ran into the fourth squad boy. Why did you give him a handkerchief?" Prometheus narrows his eyes and Dinkuron shrugs. William's eyes twinkle.

"Dinkuron just wants to have a little fun. We'll see how long the boy can keep that act up." William runs a cloth over his sword.

"Be careful, my lord. Playing around too much might backfire." Prometheus says and William gets up.

He knows that better than anyone.

* * *

Something didn't feel right.

Shiroe did all of his paperwork, met with any guests and surprisingly got to bed early. Everyone was doing their own thing and the problems for the day were over.

Krusty was in his room sleeping by now, but Shiroe stayed wide awake in bed. Pulling off the covers, he quickly changed and left his room.

Was it too quiet?

No, the footsteps of guards made silence a rare occurrence.

Slipping out the door, Shiroe walked down the rock pathway towards the stables. Suddenly, he could hear loud neighing echo through the air. His pace quickened and he went through the doors quickly.

The source of the noise turned out to be Fatality who quieted down when Shiroe arrived. His own horse, Serenity, however was nowhere to be found. Fatality pushed Shiroe towards the door and waited for him to get on top.

"Fay? What's the matter?" He asked and the horse neighed louder. He hopped on and realized how unusual it felt to be on a different horse. He didn't have much time to think about it, as Fatality darted towards the Eternal Forest.

He held on for his life and tried to calm the horse down. A branch caught on his arm and made a harsh cut, but he ignored the stinging feeling.

They rode for about fifteen minutes when the horse stopped suddenly. He lifted his head, expecting to see Serenity with its pure white fur shining in the moonlight.

Instead, he saw a group of men standing over a horse stained in red.

* * *

A/N: NOOOOOOO.

I decided that causing pain for myself makes my writing better, but this is too much.

OKAY SO, if the Silver Sword members are confusing, then the chapter 5 author's note has been edited :DD you can check out that hawt silver sword image again :Q

The action is starting, PREPARE FOR BLOOD.

And um school's almost back :O nuuuuu.

* * *

MEEP: OMGEE KPOP Did you see BTS's new mv? DANGER IS ON REPLAY FOR ME RIGHT NOW. I'm pretty much into all guy groups so we should chat sometime! :D

And LOL, LH yaoi itself is basically crack except for that tiny bit of ShiroexSoujirou in the anime. XDDD

KaptainTwix: Awh that's so sweet! :D The thought itself is enough! I'm glad you're enjoying my story ;) My account is mostly for yaoi, but currently Log Horizon is the only thing I'm really working hard on XD Thank you! :3


	8. Patience Holds Me Back

~ Patience Holds Me Back ~

* * *

Reflexively, he reaches for his sword but finds himself grasping for air. He must've left it in the palace. The shock doesn't register and nobody waits for him to get ready. Shiroe jumps off of the horse and it heads back in the other direction. He hopes that it'll warn the palace - Fatality is a smart horse.

Shiroe dodges the blades mostly by impulse. Kicking the man in front of him to the ground, he steps on his neck and cracks it under his boot. He barely has enough space to dodge another attack, which hacks right into the dead body below him.

These men mean business.

He catches the horrible sight of his horse lying motionless and it stirs him up further. Flying swiftly into a soldier, he pulls him to the ground and promptly crushes on his ribs. He manages to kill a few more, but it proves to be too difficult a task for one man. A sword sinks into his shoulder from behind and he grunts in pain.

The sword is pulled out and the man aims for his neck.

"What are you doing?!" Another man in slightly different gear appears at the scene - still mounted on a horse. The sword stops in its tracks, but doesn't withdraw.

"With all due respect, Dinkuron-sama. He killed my men!" The man seethes.

"You were the idiot who decided to attack before the signal. William-sama wants this man alive." Dinkuron glances at Shiroe, but doesn't say anything.

"I'll take responsibility for it. I must kill this man." The sword nearing his neck twitches and Shiroe silently reaches a hand into his pants pocket.

"This is not something you alone can take responsibility of. As your friend, I'm warning you. **Put the sword down.**" Dinkuron's clenches his fist.

Shiroe notices the man behind him waver, but he doesn't wait to find out his decision.

Shiroe throws a smoke ball to the ground and it causes the entire area to erupt into a dark blue smoke. When the smoke clears, Dinkuron finds Shiroe's arm wrapped around his friend's neck. Pulling tighter, the man struggles and drops his sword.

"Let him go." Dinkuron says softly - almost threateningly. He was absolutely sure Shiroe would not kill the man, but he couldn't exactly place why.

Shiroe hears a horse from behind him and Dinkuron doesn't blink at the noise. But when it arrives, he becomes noticeably more serious.

Shiroe can pretty much guess who it is.

"I sincerely hope there's a good explanation for this." Krusty's states severely while assessing the situation. Fatality nuzzles Shiroe from behind.

After a sigh, Shiroe pushes his captive away. There's a slight silence and a medical team arrives to check up on Serenity, but Shiroe refuses the treatment until his horse is guaranteed to live.

"Give me a good reason why I shouldn't kill all of you right here." Stepping in front of Shiroe, Krusty pulls out his sword and Dinkuron's gaze darkens.

"You need to regroup as much as we do." Dinkuron replies. Krusty notes that there are quite a few men left on their side and Shiroe doesn't have a sword. Still, it shouldn't be a problem for them.

"Want to test that?" Krusty steps forward but Shiroe stops him.

"We'll meet again on the battlefield." Dinkuron declares and takes the men that are still alive with him. When they're out of sight, Shiroe's hit with a pang of pain in his shoulder. Krusty keeps him from falling and the blood loss is starting to worry him.

"Why did you stop me?" Krusty asks gently. Shiroe uses Krusty's arm to steady himself.

"I left them a little gift." Shiroe mutters and walks to the medical team. Krusty doesn't question it, but expects an explanation later. Shiroe falls on his knees in front of his bandaged horse.

It almost feels like the blood running through his body turns to ice. This is the horse he has shared his memories with. If it doesn't wake up... what would he do?

His pain was numbing. He would've sat there forever, if not for Krusty tugging on his arm. When Shiroe doesn't budge, he leans toward him.

"Shiroe-kun. We're going back to the palace." Krusty's warm breath heats up his neck. After a few moments of hesitation, he allows himself to be pulled up. Krusty jumps on his horse and holds out his hand.

"I don't trust you on a horse by yourself." Krusty says. Truthfully, Shiroe doesn't trust himself either so he takes it. On the ride back, he leans on Krusty and lets himself pass out. Just this once, he gives in.

* * *

When Shiroe wakes up, he's slightly disappointed that Krusty is nowhere to be found. Judging by the sun outside, it must be the next day already.

Looking around, he recognizes this room as one of the medical facilities. The entirely white room - including his bed and clothing - is another indication of that. The stab wound in his shoulder aches, but it's nothing he hasn't felt before.

On the table next to him lies a fruit basket. He figures that it was probably from Ryiz, but will thank Krusty too just in case. In the middle of eating an apple, someone knocks on his door.

"You can come in." Shiroe peeks his head around the curtain blocking his view of the door.

"I was going to come in anyway." Naotsugu laughs as he closes the door behind him. Shiroe offers him some fruit, but he declines.

"Rough night, huh?" Naotsugu asks jokingly and Shiroe rolls his eyes. Naotsugu has known about Shiroe and Krusty's close relationship since forever. His teasing has unfortunately become a part of Shiroe's daily life.

"Was everything settled?" Shiroe pulls the blanket over his legs and leans back against his pillows.

"The group that attacked you was separated from the main attack force. After your situation, we were notified that there were spottings of Silver Sword soldiers marching through the Eternal Forest." Naotsugu explains and Shiroe realizes that after the hunt a few years back, they haven't been monitoring the forest very well. It would be the perfect place to launch a surprise attack.

"If that group didn't attack us, the main attack force would have taken us by surprise. It must've been a mistake on their part. At least that's what Krusty said." Naotsugu adds. Shiroe continues to eat his apple in thought.

"And the result?" Shiroe holds his breath. Naotsugu breaks out into a grin.

"We took them down with minimal casualties. They made a full retreat just this morning." Naotsugu reports and Shiroe sighs in relief. For a minute he hesitates to ask, but he does anyway.

"How's my horse?" He murmurs. Naotsugu deflates a little.

"It'll live, thankfully. But it might never walk again." He says truthfully and Shiroe lets out a withheld breath. _It's going to live. Thank goodness._

"Serenity most likely noticed something wrong, found them and tried to warn someone. Horses are smart." Naotsugu stated.

"Actually, knowing Serenity... It probably attacked them." Shiroe smiles warmly. Naotsugu hurries to change the subject.

"Remember that thing I mentioned before? The people I want you to meet are in this infirmary right now." Naotsugu says and Shiroe remembers when they had spoken in private after the lunch with Hien.

"You said you found them on the Silver Sword borders during your patrol, right?" Shiroe responds while getting up.

"They were in bad condition so I brought them here." Naotsugu helps him stand and Shiroe pushes him away.

"I got stabbed in the shoulder, not my leg." He opens the door.

"Touchy." Naotsugu pouts. He takes the lead and stops at the door down the hallway. After opening the door for Shiroe, he pulls it closed. Inside there are two people, one of them asleep in bed. Shiroe bows slightly.

"I'm Shiroe. We took you two in because your brother was injured and rest assured, you aren't prisoners or anything." Shiroe clarifies and the girl sitting beside the bed lifts her head.

"I'm indebted to you, thank you for saving us." She says and wipes her tears.

"My name is Minori and this is my brother, Touya."

* * *

"Isaac sent you a message." Ryiz drops the envelope on Krusty's desk.

"Why are _you_ bringing it to me?" Krusty doesn't look up - too annoyed with everything going on.

"It has a royal seal - it's not like just anyone can pick it up. And Shiroe's injured because of your incompetence," Ryiz leans forward. "...So I guess you'll have to deal with it." Krusty doesn't react, but rips open the envelope with much more force than necessary.

_Krusty_

_I received word from one of my patrols that you were engaged in battle with Silver Sword. Shall I send reinforcements? The West Wind Brigade has arrived here._

_Watch out for Hamelin._

_P.S. - Our patrols exchanged some words and I hear that Shiroe was injured?_

_Kill them all._

_Issac_

Krusty smirks and pushes the letter to the side. He reaches into his drawer for a piece of paper and begins writing his response.

"Are you accepting the reinforcements?" Ryiz crosses his arms and leans against the wall across from Krusty.

"We should have no problems dealing with Silver Sword on our own - assuming you'll stay awake for that long." Krusty mocks, but Ryiz pretends he didn't hear that part.

"Don't underestimate them. If you end up dead, I'll have a lot more people to kill and it's already _quite_ a long list." Ryiz sighs, feigning sadness. Once Ryiz leaves, Krusty laughs evaporates into the air. And this was one of the reasons that he could fight with no regrets.

* * *

"Silver Sword spotted Naotsugu-san's patrol group on our borders. Touya told me his mission was to find out who you were and to eliminate you if you were a threat. It seemed like a suicide mission for a bunch of amateurs to defeat your team so he came to let me know in advance. I was so worried that I decided to follow him." Minori sniffles and Shiroe hands her a tissue.

"Before they even found you, the whole squad was attacked by bandits. Touya acted as a decoy to let his friends get away. I tried to help him, but he was injured protecting me." Minori uses her hands to cover her face. "In the middle of the fight, Naotsugu-san saved us." Shiroe looks at her sympathetically.

"Why don't you rest? We'll figure something out when your brother wakes up." Shiroe puts his hand on her shoulder. He offers to bring her to another bed, but she climbs in next to Touya instead. They soon leave the room and walk through the hallway.

"If she isn't lying, that means their situation had nothing to do with the attack last night. In fact, they didn't even seem to know about it." Shiroe remarks and Naotsugu nods.

"Touya seems like a good kid. I might just take him in as an apprentice." Naotsugu grins.

"They might want to go back to Silver Sword, you know."

* * *

"Dinkuron, I trusted you to be able to control your squads." William bites his lip as Dinkuron bows in apology.

"Please don't blame him, sir! It was my actions that jeopardized the attack." The squad leader on the side exclaims nervously.

"I'm not blaming him." William tsks. The tent is silent until William sighs.

"Tell me what made you decide to rush ahead, lose five of our men, alert D.D.D. of our attack and injure the only person I wanted you to keep alive in this war. Enlighten me, please, because I'm _really_ interested to know why you would do something so incredibly **thoughtless**." William stands up and runs a hand through his hair.

"Please hear me out. I received word from someone with our uniform saying that the signal had been given." He explains earnestly. William pauses for a moment.

"Do you know what the point of a signal is?" William questions harshly. Before the man can answer, he holds his hand up.

"We send upbright sparkling white flares. Three times and they stay in the sky for five minutes each." William makes a firework motion with his hand.

"Yes, but I thought-"

"It was pitch black _in the middle of the night!_" William shouts in disbelief. The other man is silenced.

"Sir-" Dinkuron starts. William groans.

"Do you know how many lives we lost today?!" William slams his hands on a table.

"I recently promoted him, William-sama. It was an accident on my part." Dinkuron interrupts. William purses his lips and exhales slowly.

"I'm sorry. I'm taking out my anger on you two. Prometheus is seriously injured right now and we lost a lot of people out there in a battle we were supposed to have the upper hand in." William sits down at his desk.

"Prometheus was injured?" Dinkuron asks softly and William nods. He silently dismisses the squad leader, who leaves feeling down.

"We only sent you and Prometheus with your second and third squad members, remember? It was supposed to be a quick in-and-out operation, where you two take out as many people as possible. We didn't expect General Naotsugu to be on the battlefield this time. Prometheus had to step up." William explains and Dinkuron crumples with guilt.

"Because you went off to secure your squad, Prometheus dueled with him and was pulled back in critical condition." William writes something down. Dinkuron remains speechless.

"However..." William puts a hand on his shoulder. "It was also lucky that the incident with your squad kept Shiroe and Krusty busy for the majority of the attack. Don't feel guilty." And regarding Shiroe being injured, it came after his kingdom. Plus, Shiroe wasn't weak enough to let this scare him into hiding. He'll be right there for William to take back.

William hands Dinkuron a piece of paper. "Take this to Ranodomaru. He's a member of the second squad under Prometheus. We'll promote him to first squad while Prometheus is recovering."

"I know Ranodomaru personally, so there shouldn't be a problem. I'll go check on Prometheus afterwards, William-sama." Dinkuron bows quietly. William motions him to come closer.

"The only ones other than first, second and third squads that knew about this attack today were Hamelin and Brigandia. Gather the first squad members - including Ranodomaru - and we'll find out who misled your friend's squad." William whispers.

"I understand." Dinkuron turns around to leave, but suddenly begins to cough violently. William is slightly taken aback because he showed no signs of it just earlier.

"Is something the matter?" He asks insistently.

"No, I'm fine." Dinkuron leaves the tent, confused. He sounded like he was _dying_.

* * *

"You don't even look injured anymore." Naotsugu eyes Shiroe in his uniform. They were required to wear certain uniforms to avoid friendly fire on the battlefield.

"Easy for you to say - you're not the one with a hole in your shoulder." Shiroe huffs and walks past him. Grinning, Naotsugu follows him to the army grounds. The soldiers are spread out having lunch.

"Shiroe-sama!" "General Naotsugu!" The soldiers greet them with cheers. They wave while walking to the main tent. Taking a breath, Shiroe enters and gets on one knee. Naotsugu does the same.

"My apologies. I hope we're not late." He says.

"Oh, Shiroe! We heard the soldiers outside. Are you alright?" The king shouts. They both stand up.

"Of course I am, thank you." Shiroe bows. "Who sent me the fruit basket?" He inquires, amused.

"Who else would-" Ryiz and Krusty say simultaneously, but then stop themselves. Shiroe uses his hand to hide his laugh.

"Hey, Shiroe. If you can guess who sent it, you can ask both of us for anything you want." Ryiz smirks and Shiroe groans. _How was he supposed to know? _

"I would appreciate it if you didn't promise on my behalf." Krusty returns to looking at the map spread out on the table, but doesn't reject the proposal.

"Don't forget you promised when I guess correctly." Shiroe verifies and Ryiz just smiles. Naotsugu pats him on the back before taking his unoccupied seat. Shiroe goes to stand next to Krusty's seat, similar to how Ryiz stands by the king.

"Today we need to discuss our plans for this sudden attack." Krusty explains and marks where Shiroe horse was attacked with a red pin. He also sticks in a blue pin farther away.

"To refresh your memories, this red pin indicates the earliest attack. It was a single squad of less than ten people - including General Dinkuron. The blue pin indicates the main attack force led by General Prometheus." Krusty explains. They nod for him to continue.

"I believe we all have a few things to say. I'll start with how I received word from our allies, Black Sword kingdom." Krusty points to their position on the map.

"They heard about the attack, but I denied their proposal to send troops. We shouldn't make any rash decisions before deciding what Silver Sword's plans are, as well as the other major kingdoms. We wouldn't want them attacking Black Sword while they're not at full power. Oh and the West Wind Brigade has arrived at Black Sword to strengthen our force, if necessary." Krusty adds. Shiroe smiles, he hasn't seen Soujirou for a while now and it was always good to hear about him.

"I have something to add. While on patrol the other day, I ran into an injured Silver Sword soldier and his sister. Right about here." Naotsugu stabs a green pin into a space between their kingdoms.

"Apparently, certain soldiers weren't informed about the attack last night." He finishes and leans back in his chair.

"We should start gathering our forces. Silver Sword may have a organized army with many mercenary groups, but they don't realize the mistake they've made by attacking us." The king links his hands together on the table. Something about his statement makes Shiroe wonder if this war is because of him. He shakes away the ominous thought and continues listening.

"Actually, regarding our allies..." Ryiz smirks and slips some sketches onto the table. Shiroe recognizes them immediately.

"Dread Pack?" Shiroe takes a closer look at the pictures.

"Yeah. These were sketches made by Marine Agency's artists. I offered to take care of this group for Shiroe because they were being rather troublesome in town. When I caught them, they didn't seem to particularly hate us or anything - they just happened to do their crimes in our kingdom." Ryiz recounts and Shiroe leans on the table.

"So we use them against Silver Sword as spies?" Shiroe concludes carefully.

"Spies, human sacrifices, whatever floats your boat, _Strategist-kun_." Ryiz drawls and Shiroe rolls his eyes. The other generals discuss a few of their own ideas, but other than some decent tactics - nobody has a solid idea of what to do without knowing Silver Sword's intentions.

"We should attack before they can recover. Instead of making the same mistake they made, we should use the majority of our attack force and eliminate them completely." Krusty declares calmly. When Krusty turns to look at him, Shiroe remembers something _extremely_ important that he almost forgot about.

"I believe Shiroe left them a little gift in our last encounter?" Krusty says. The entire tent looks at him expectantly and they were definitely _not _disappointed by his response.

"I might've poisoned General Dinkuron and his men with a contagious virus."

* * *

A/N: HAHA I wonder when he did that?

Who wants to guess who sent Shiroe the fruit basket? :3 huehuehue

Oh and something quite embarrassing and depressing happened to me recently so I hope you'll take the chance to review and make me feel fluffy :(:)

Speaking of depressing, UM SCHOOL. XD


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